More from NBC

Barton retracts apology to BP

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Shawna ThomasRep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has apologized -- for the third time today.

This time, he apologized for apologizing to BP. Earlier, during testimony, he apologized "if anything I've said this morning has been misconstrued."

He said, "And if anything I've said this morning has been misconstrued ... I want to apologize for that ... misconstruction."

But now Barton has put out a written statement explicitly apologizing for his original comments this morning and went so far as to "retract my apology to BP."

Here's his statement:

"I apologize for using the term 'shakedown' with regard to yesterday's actions at the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP. As I told my colleagues yesterday and said again this morning, BP should bear the full financial responsibility for the accident on their lease in the Gulf of Mexico. BP should fully compensate those families and businesses that have been hurt by this accident. BP and the federal government need to stop the leak, clean up the damage, and take whatever steps necessary to prevent a similar accident in the future. I regret the impact that my statement this morning implied that BP should not pay for the consequences of their decisions and actions in this incident."